


Corny Lines For Thanksgiving

by TerresDeBrume



Series: AUs without a cause [5]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cancer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-26
Updated: 2012-03-26
Packaged: 2017-11-02 13:52:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/369696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerresDeBrume/pseuds/TerresDeBrume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tony looks through the window of his office, he sees a blonde guy with a too big dog and too-loud laugh. And then he falls for his boyfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Corny Lines For Thanksgiving

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt by ms-ravenheart: Tony confuses Thor and Loki’s brotherhood with romance.
> 
>  **Note:** This story now exists in [Italian](http://mrevilside.tumblr.com/post/26488594230/corny-lines-for-thanksgiving-the-avengers) thanks to MrEvilside :)

He notices the blond one first.

Granted, missing him would have been difficult, what with the annoying, obnoxious, infectious laughter the guy sports. He comes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and he plays in the park with a great bear of a dog that gets mud in its fur and makes mothers pull their kids away. Tony watches them roll around like a kid and his pup, and he pretends he’s not procrastinating on paperwork like his life depends on it -because if he doesn’t at least  _pretend_ , Pepper is going to kill him. They appeared on a cloudy morning last September, the man looking depressed, and the dog trying to cheer him up to no avail… it’s the mid-March now, and they keep coming at lunch time -and Tony keeps watching them and wishing he could be the one playing around with his dog, nevermind that he doesn’t have one.

It’s a nice day today, too sunny to miss, and Tony takes his usual sandwich outside for once, eats it on a bench not far from the man’s favorite spot, and that’s when he notices the other one.

 

He’s tall too, thin and pale in his thick jumper and woolen hat under a heavy coat. He looks tired, stretched, like there’s not enough of his skin to cover him, but he looks at the blonde one with so much love in his eyes it’s like a punch to Tony’s non-existent heart. Tony watches them interact, watches the blond giant pause in his game to come near his friend, check that his coffee is warm, adjust his scarf, kiss his brow… ah. Lovers then.

The pale one is more of a mystery.

He stays there on his bench, day after day after day, never moves or walk. He watches his boyfriend play fetch with the dog –a Tibetan mastiff, Rhodey said- pats the beast when asked for it, and answers the kids who ask why he’s bald with a different story each time –Tony jots them all down in a small notebook: they’re always entertaining, despite the obvious lie. He kind of wishes he could draw, like Steve, just so he could fix that crooked smile on paper and keep it with him for the days the men don’t come out.

People at work start to tease him, ask how his stalking is doing. Only Pepper doesn’t, but then again it’s maybe a bit too soon to joke about that kind of thing when they’ve broken up not two months before.

 

{ooo}

 

March turns into April, and nothing changes in their routine.

Tony keeps watching the boyfriends and their dog, and they keep not knowing he exists, which is their right after all. But then one day, there’s a phone call, and an apology, and the bald one is left alone with his green eyes and his tired but sincere smile. He looks lonely, without his boyfriend or the dog to come and stir him out of his thoughts, so Tony uses nearly a month of nonchalant observation –and not stalking, Tony Stark doesn’t  _stalk_ \- to go to the nearest stand and buy a minty milkshake.

 

“I was wondering when you would come and talk to me,” the man says when Tony walks up to him, and Tony resists the urge to run a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Well, I didn’t want to disrupt your fun,” he says, and the man smile, green eyes even brighter from this close up.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I can still sit on a bench with you there.” He nods at the milkshake Tony’s still holding in his hand: “is this for me?”

“I figured it could be a good ice breaker,” Tony says, “but you kind of beat me to it.”

“Well then, thank you,” the man chuckles. “Do you have a name to go with the offering, or shall I keep calling you Mr. Purple Glasses?”

“You have a name for me?” Tony asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, you  _have_  been watching us for a month now. I was curious. Don’t you have one for me?”

“Nope,” Tony says, still standing.

“Liar,” the other one replies. “You do have one, but it’s offensive.” He shrugs Tony’s protest away and smirks: “Just because kids are the only ones who point out I’m bald doesn’t mean they’re the only ones to notice it. However, since I do admit it’s not my favorite attribute, I suppose you may call me Loki, if you wish.”

“Tony,” Tony answers, and he finally sits down, handing the milkshake over. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you to, Tony,” Loki says, and then takes a sip of the milkshake.

 

The next time they meet –it’s Friday- the blonde one comes up to Tony, who’s back to his usual bench, and smiles:

 

“Loki told me you kept him company the other day. I must thank you for that, as I was loathe to leave him alone. Would you allow me to repay your kindness with a sandwich of some sort?”

 

And, well Tony should probably refuse, because last time he stayed with Loki for way,  _way_  longer than he should have, long enough that Pepper walked past them on her way off from the office and nurses had to come out and help him back to the hospital, and Tony’s getting too attached already… But then Loki’s looking at him, like he’s asking him to say yes, and Tony thinks  _fuck, I’m so screwed_ , and says yes.

And they eat their sandwiches –and orange juice and medicine, in Loki’s case- sitting together on the bench while the dog –Fenrir, Loki said- keeps running around like it’s chasing bees, which it might actually be doing.

 

“May I ask a favor, Tony Stark?” the blon—Thor asks when Tony rises to go back to the office –barely- in time.

“Uh… ask away?”

“Loki does not receive as much visitors as he would like. Most people he knows live far away, and I fear the solitude may hinder his recovery process… would you be so kind as to visit him when I cannot?”

 

Oh yes, Tony is so, so, _so_ screwed.

 

{ooo}

 

“I’m assuming Thor asked you to come and see me,” Loki says when Tony comes in with a box of Chinese takeout on the next Monday.

“Well, it’s not like I have very far to walk, after all,” Tony shrugs. “And if I’m completely honest with you, I come with questions.”

“Oh, is this an interrogation then?” Loki asks as he settles into his meal –and okay, that would have sounded flirtatious if he weren’t so obviously happy with Thor. Damnit, Tony.

“Sort of,” Tony chuckles, hiding his sudden bout of nerves in his soda. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, though.”

“Ask then,” Loki says, and promptly steals a prawn from Tony’s plate.

“Thor said you didn’t have any visit besides his?”

“Ow, you don’t pull your punches, do you?” Loki says, scrunching his nose. He looks at Tony for a long moment then, and sighs: “I… I always had a rocky relationship with my parents. I wasn’t very social, and my only friend was Thor… his friends, well. They weren’t all that bad, but it was more the two-for-one kind of deal than any real affection for me… I only ever stayed for Thor, to be honest. And then I told my parents I was gay and they… well. Long story short, I left, and I stopped talking to anyone. Lasted five years. Then last year I got diagnosed and when I phoned back home, Thor was the only one who answered. So here I am, with no eyebrows and an oversized puppy that likes to hunt squirrels.”

 

Loki is still looking at his plate, so Tony nudges his foot under the table:

 

“Come on, it’s not so bad,” he says. “Think of it as a built-in Lex Luthor cosplay.”

 

Loki bursts out laughing.

 

{ooo}

 

Somehow, April turns into May, then June, and July.

One day at the start of August, Tony finds Loki in the park –he’s strong enough to go out by himself now- as has become their routine on Thursdays, and Loki greets him with the biggest grin ever and points at his face:

 

“Look at that! Eyebrows!”

 

And he looks so damn  _happy_  about it, and Tony wants to kiss him so bad, wants to blurt ‘I love you’ and do stupid things like making him spin in the air, extra inches be damned, and this is so  _not_  a good idea… he turns and runs back to his office.

It barely takes five minutes before Pepper appears at his door with the sternest look ever and says:

 

“Do I really need to tell you who’s at the door?”

“Tell him I’m busy, Pepper.”

“Tony,” Pepper says, “do you have  _any idea_  of the look on his face right now?”

“He’s got a  _boyfriend_ , Pepper!” Tony protests, “And it’s not like he’s a douche or anything, Thor’s my  _friend_  too, and I’m not ruining that because of a stupid crush!”

“So  _that’s_ what you’re choosing to call it?” Pepper says, low and dangerous, as she closes the door behind her. “Just a  _crush_?”

“Because that’s what it  _is_ ,” Tony says, and Pepper’s hand jerks forward as if to slap him.

“Bullshit,” she spits, and Tony’s eyes widen because Pepper  _never_  swears. “It’s a lie and you know it. I’ve seen the way you look at him Tony, and that’s not how you look at a  _crush_! At least have the decency to tell him what’s happening!”

“Pepper, please don’t,” Tony sighs, sinking further in his chair, "I just can’t tell him.”

“Tell me what?”

 

Is it weird that Tony find Loki ten times more attractive like this, pissed and blatantly hairless as he leans against the door for support than when he’s just sitting in the park and being careful about his health? (Not that this happens very often, because Tony has come to understand that Loki likes to go out and scare the nurses to death with his pranks).

He throws a pleading look to Pepper, but she just nods, clearly approving of the situation, and she leaves them alone. Traitor.

 

“You’re… you’re not supposed to be here,” Tony tries.

“You should tell that to your colleagues,” Loki replies coldly, “They’re the ones who let me in.”

“They shouldn’t have,” Tony repeats, heart hammering against his ribcage, and Loki snorts:

“Because it’s not allowed, or because you’re pissing your pants at the idea of actually talking to me?”

 

Tony cringes at the harsh tone, but he doesn’t find it in himself to protest when Loki sits down in the chair in front of him, straight backed and regal and so damn  _beautiful_  in the way he refuses to let his illness show at any given time. It occurs to Tony that this is it, this is the moment where he loses Loki’s friendship and everything, and his eyes itch.

 

“Thought as much,” Loki says. “Look. I don’t know what you’re afraid of, really. I thought we got along well and that this had a chance to work, but then at the last minute you literally run off on me—no, listen to me!” He leans forward in his chair for the next part, elbows resting on the desk, and Tony shuts up, unable to speak past the intense gaze he’s subjected to. “Here’s the thing Tony: last Thanksgiving, I was told I wouldn’t survive past Christmas. How I survived, I have no idea –maybe it’s luck, maybe it’s prayers, whatever. The point is, I thought I was going to die and my own mother still wouldn’t even speak to me for longer than it took to wish she’d never adopted me –believe me, it’s not a nice way to find out your family isn’t really your family. At one point I even considered finishing the job myself. But then I survived Christmas, and New Year, and winter, and I started to get better… and then I met you. I like being with you. You make stupid hair jokes, and you’re obnoxious, and stubborn, and I  _like_  you, like, a lot. And I hoped, now that I’ll  _finally_ get off the hospital, that maybe you’d be willing to share this with me.”

“Loki, it’s not that I don’t want to….”

“Then  _what_?” Loki says. “Is it because of the way I look right now? Are you afraid of what people will think when they see you with a bald guy? Because you know, I used to worry about that too, before but frankly being told you have a month left to live helps getting rid of that.”

“NO!” Tony exclaims, desperate not to send that kind of message, because even if he’s never seen Loki when he’s in full health, he knows he can’t be anything but beautiful and charismatic and handsome, just as he’s always been. “No, I swear, it has nothing to do with the way you look! And I want to be with you too, really it’s—”

“Then come with us this weekend.”

“Uh… what?”

“We’re celebrating my birthday on Sunday,” Loki says, looking suddenly younger by at least ten years. “My best friend and her roommate are flying over, and Thor’s friends and his wife are coming along and….”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Tony says, rising in his surprise, “Thor’s  _wife_?”

“Yeah,” Loki answers, looking flabbergasted, “His wife, Sif. We’ve told you about Sif, right?”

“But I thought you two were dating!”

 

For the record, it’s the first time Tony has ever seen anyone’s jaw  _literally_  fall open, but it’s a pretty funny sight, actually. Or, well, it would be if Tony didn’t feel like Loki’s answer may very well shape the rest of his life.

 

“Thor is my brother,” Loki says, and Tony gapes.

“He’s your  _brother_?”

“Well, my adopted brother technically but—hmpf!”

 

Yes, Tony will admit, the whole cutting someone off with a kiss because you’re just  _that happy_  about what they said is more than a little cliché. But honestly, if you’d been in his shoes right now, you would have done the same because,  _hello_ , Loki is actually  _available_  and  _willing_ , and fuck….

 

“I love you,” he says, like a drowning man clutches at a lifeline, and Loki smiles, big and bright and  _addictive_ , and he kisses him in turn.

 

{ooo}

 

Three years, two breakups and a second dog later, Tony is sitting between Volstagg and Jane at the long table in Thor and Sif’s backgarden, and it’s his turn to find something he’s grateful for. For the past three years, Tony’s been thankful for Thor’s loud laugh, because he wouldn’t have noticed him without it, and he wouldn’t have met Loki without Thor.

Tony grabs Loki by the waist as he passes on his way back from the bathroom, and he smiles at him before he says:

 

“I’m thankful for big blondes with no volume control, for allowing me to meet the man I’ll marry next year. If he’s willing.”

 

And Loki looks at him with that look that’s a mix between fond and exasperated and amused and  _god you’re so cheesy sometimes_ , and he starts with the same thing as every years:

 

“Well  _I’m_  thankful for my eyebrows forcing a certain idiot to  _speak_  to me and actually asking me out. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to say yes right now.”

 

They kiss, cheesy and ridiculous and  _perfect_ , and the others shower them with catcalls and whistles.

 

(Years later, their children learn to groan as soon as someone announces it’s Tony’s turn, and they smirk at the confused looks on their in-laws’ faces, because they may be older, but messing with people’s head will never stop to be funny.

 

Especially when all their friends make sure Tony will have his turn before Loki, just so they can recite their little corny lines.)

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to comment anonymously, and/or if you have question(s) concerning the various backstories in this fic, you can go [here](http://terresdebrume.tumblr.com/ask) and I'll answer them in the fic's [tag](http://terresdebrume.tumblr.com/tagged/Fic%3A-Corny-Lines-For-Thanksgiving) <3


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